The Betrayal and Corruption of Light
by LowFlyer1080
Summary: Physical pain is nothing compared to the pain of betrayal...especially when it's by those who you loved the most. The ones who were supposed to be your protectors. Implied Usagi x Setsuna. Rated M for language, violence, and implied character death.


**The Betrayal and Corruption of Light**

By: LowFlyer1080

_**DISCLAIMER:**_ I don't own Sailor Moon or the song Awake by Godsmack.

**!!!Author's Note!!!**: If you want to see what Bloodmoon looks like, go to wowhead dot com and search for "Bloodmoon". That's exactly how it looks.

As always, any words in double quotes are spoken, single quotes and/or italics are thoughts.

* * *

Pain. It's a funny thing. What exactly does it represent? Physical hurt? Emotional hurt? Spiritual hurt? To most, pain is just that: the feeling of being hurt, be it physical, emotional, or spiritual. Over my life I've felt a great deal of it. And up until a few minutes ago, I had always managed to push it away. It was something I could deal with. It had never really affected me. I just thought it was like the pain you got when you bumped your elbow, or sprained your ankle, or skinned your knee. Little did I know what true agony it could really be. The type of pain that stabs at you, the type that never goes away, the emotional type of pain that makes your heart physically hurt as it labors to keep beating. The pain was so great, I could hardly breathe and I nearly doubled over as I fought for air. Others describe me as the nice one, the sweet one, the loving one. I never get angry. I never get mad. I give everyone another chance to better themselves, even those who would try to destroy me.

I never really felt pain until their betrayal. My mind was in a state of shock, numb through and through. You're worthless as a leader, they had said. You're always late. You eat too much. You're a klutz. You're not smart enough. You can't possibly be a princess. My own protectors had turned against me. Mercury, Venus, why are you looking at me like that? Mars, Jupiter, why do you say these things to me? Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, not you three as well! Why are you doing this to me? Why do you hurt me like this? Their words catch me unaware, and I stumble back a few steps away from them.

_**Wait another minute.**_

_**Can't you see what this pain has fucking done to me?**_

_**I'm alive and still kickin'.**_

_**What you see I can't see and maybe**_

_**You'll think before you speak.**_

Tears come to my eyes, and Mars makes another comment, calling me a crybaby. Another searing pain fills my chest. I do not sob, but stand there silently as my now broken mind tries to reform itself, wrap itself around this twisted joke of events. Like the parting of the sea, the haze clears from me and my past floods out. I tell them all what had already happened that day to me. I had gotten into a big fight with my mother before I had reached school, which was why I was late. I got hit in the shoulder with a baseball during physical education. I had tripped on the stairs on my way back to my locker, twisting my ankle and spilling my books over the floor as others laughed at my accident. I had to serve detention due to being late, which in turn made me late getting to Mamoru's apartment. Ironically I was right on time to see him with another woman. I had hoped to get here early to find some comfort from them, but apparently I would not. They stood shocked as I recalled my home life for them, how my father and mother never treated me the way I should have been. How my little 'brother' wasn't even my blood brother, because I was adopted into their family. More and more pain welled up within me, spilling out my mouth in the form of heated words spoken with a silent rage that had burrowed itself inside me as a parasite does.

_**I'm alive, for you I'm awake.**_

_**Because of you, I'm alive.**_

_**For you I'm awake.**_

_**Swallowing you**_

I had never thought I would ever feel the anger that I did at that moment. Nor the _hatred_ that boiled inside my soul. I had never truly felt that before, but now I did. My entire body felt rigidly stiff, like my muscles had all constricted into cement. My heart beat labouringly as my breath came in short, quick gasps. As I continued on, I noticed my brooch begin to glow, however I was unconcerned. The more and more I vented, the stronger the light grew. I noticed some of them take a few steps back, and I felt my body move itself forward almost as if it were stalking them. Feelings, memories, stress, they all came out of me as I continued to hiss at them all. Still, the light grew stronger, until with one bright flash, I had transformed into Eternal Sailor Moon. I continued my slow, calculated advance upon my senshi, noticing them transform as well. If it was war they wanted, then I would be the one to give it to them. And I said that as well. I knew that none of them could hope to stand against me, even Saturn. Her calling the silence would never happen. Not if I had anything to say about it. I offered them one last chance to renounce their mutinous act and seek redemption. None of them stepped forward…

Then so be it.

_**Take another second.**_

_**Turn your back on me and make believe that**_

_**you're always happy.**_

_**It's safe to say you're never alive.**_

_**A big part of you has died**_

_**And by the way, I hope you're satisfied.**_

The Silver Crystal came forth instantly upon my summons. I would pass judgment upon Saturn first. Your ability to call the Silence is the only real threat to me now. I have seen the way you all handle yourself in battle, however I am always the one who must sweep in and finish things off. You are the only real danger, and for that your power will now be sealed for the rest of Eternity. A beam of light from the Crystal enveloped Saturn, who cried out in shock. Slowly the white light turned dark purple, as her powers and energy were drained from her. A flash of blackness shot up the light toward the crystal, and I recognized it as the remnants of Mistress 9. Tch, who does she think she is, the stupid bitch. A minor flare of power and the blackness was incinerated. I felt my fuku change slightly, and a weight settles upon my back. The powers of Saturn now belonged to me. A band of violet now coated the bottom of my skirt. The Silence Glaive slung over my shoulder, across my back. The light faded and Hotaru's unconscious form slumped to the ground. The outcry against me was immediate. As the former inners rushed to Hotaru, Uranus and Neptune went on the assault.

Your attempts are pathetic. With a sweep of the Glaive, an energy wave impacted the two, hurling them backwards. Their talismans shattered. You both dared to go along with Mars on this and now you must suffer punishment because of your traitorous act. With the power of the Grail on my side, as well as the Glaive, how could you possibly hope to get away with such treason? How could any of you dare do this to me? Two more white beams erupted from the crystal, impacting Uranus and Neptune. I felt their powers drain into the crystal and 2 more rings of color, one golden, one aquamarine, join the violet one already on my skirt. I needn't hold the Silver Crystal any more, as it floated in the air above me, allowing me to defend myself. Mercury attempted to stop me with her Aqua Illusion. Illusions only work on those who believe them to be real, Ami-chan; you taught me that, I say to her. A sweep of the Glaive and her mist disappears. A fourth beam slams into Mercury, sapping her energy and powers away from her. A blue ring forms on my skirt next to the aquamarine. In a fit of anger, Jupiter goes on the assault, hurling her dragon towards me. Take away the lightning, and you have a goddess with no thunder. Drawing my hands up in front of me, I reformed the Aqua Mirror, and absorbed the incoming strike. Impudent wench, I'll teach you a lesson. Spinning the mirror in my hand, I released the dragon back at her at double power. The lightning slams into her and I see her drop like a sack of potatoes. Another beam of white light, connecting with her, drains the now unconscious Jupiter of her powers. An emerald green ring forms above Mercury's blue one on my skirt.

_**I'm alive, for you I'm awake.**_

_**Because of you, I'm alive.**_

_**For you I'm awake.**_

_**Swallowing you.**_

Frost and fog flowed off my enraged body from the chilling powers of Mercury as lightning and wind crackled and howled around me. The pall of death filled the air as rain began to fall heavily. The powers of five now stood with one, I told my final two senshi as I rounded slowly upon them, the Silence Glaive held out in front of me. You two were the ones who instigated this treachery. And so you both shall be punished in a manner fitting of it. Not only shall I sap you of all your energy and senshi powers, but I will see to it neither of you share love again. With anyone! I screamed out at them as the Silver Crystal resonated my anger in a high pitched tone. Twin beams erupted again from the crystal, slamming into the final two senshi, draining their energies. Bands of orange and red joined the others on my skirt as I felt the fire of Mars strengthen me further. They were left weakened, but still awake, from the assault the Crystal had hit them with.

Rise up, to receive your final penance. I pointed the Glaive at them, forcing them to their feet with my power. Drawing upon Venus I cast a reddish-pink haze through the air. Thousands upon thousands of little red ribbons appeared, crisscrossing the air. Altering the flow of my energy, all but one of them disappeared. The one linking my two final senshi together. Slinging the glaive back over my back, I stepped slowly forward between the two as they were held in place by ice chains made with Mercury's powers. They begged me to stop. That this was going too far. I hesitated for a mere moment, before gripping the ribbon in my hand, giving it a little tug. Both of them cried out in pain as they felt their love for each other waiver slightly.

_**Tearing it back unveiling me.**_

_**Taking a step back so I can breathe.**_

_**Hear the silence about to break.**_

_**Fear resistance when I'm awake.**_

Do either of you have anything to say for yourselves? I asked them as I summoned forth my own powers of the Moon, felt them seethe with thirst as they flared about the three of us. You two were the first of us to fall in love with each other, before even Uranus and Neptune. Yours is a love that has seen you through many horrors. A love that has withstood time. And space. And even death itself. Your love has withstood and defied all challenges thrown against it, by gods, humans, and evil powers alike. The betrayal of you by an extremely close friend hurts with a pain that you can't imagine, but can only experience. Two wrongs don't make a right, but they often prevent more wrongs from happening. How well do you think you both could do if you knew your love for each other that has withstood so much, over so many centuries, was suddenly and easily broken by someone who loved you both? By someone who you once considered one of your closest friends? By someone who you were entrusted to defend to your last dying breath? I squeezed the ribbon in my fist, sending a burst of lightning down both sides, hearing them grunt in pain.

Lightning cannot damage it. I sent a blast of frost down both ends. Frost cannot break it. Searing heat, driving winds, drowning water, the void of death. One after another, I hit their loveline with the powers of the Sailor Senshi. None of these have any effect upon your ribbon as it still holds strong. I tell them as I assault the link with each of the senshi. Time obviously won't do a thing to it as this line is millennia old, yet still looks brand new.

_**Tearing it back unveiling me.**_

_**Taking a step back so I can breathe.**_

_**Hear the silence about to break.**_

_**Fear resistance when I'm awake.**_

The lunar rage flows through me, as starlight and moonfire seethe and churn around us, conjured forth by my hatred. I shall break this damned ribbon, and sever you both from all intimate love. So that you may serve as an example, and a reminder, to all the senshi from here forward. The sands of time shift and flow like a river, constantly changing, yet remaining the same. The rise and fall of the Moon Kingdom has happened countless times, and will continue to do so, but now they shall continue to do so without the love between Venus and Mars. I say to them, reforming the space sword in my hand. I draw the glaive over my shoulder with my other hand and force the two together. A dark flash of crimson red bursts around us and a new weapon forms in my hands. With Bloodmoon, I shall consummate your punishment, and invoke the age of Crystal Tokyo. And I shall rule alone. I no longer have need of the senshi as their powers now rest with me. Only in the eventual fall of my kingdom, will the ties between senshi and their powers be reformed.

I heft the large greataxe in my hands, raising it above my head, power surging around me. I block out their pitiful cries for mercy. I had offered them a final chance already, and they declined, I reminded them. And now you shall pay. Power coursed through me and I swung Bloodmoon downward, slamming it into the ribbon. Energy detonated around me as the Blade of the New Moon struggled against the adamantine bond. Pushing with all my might I bore down hard on the axe, the voices of my former friends ringing in my ears as I worked to sever the bond. The dry hiss of magic and the crackling of the axe blade against the ribbon filled the air as I watched, satisfaction growing on my face with each passing moment, cracks and fracture lines appearing in the line connecting Rei and Minako forming from the crushing force behind my weapon.

_**I'm alive, for you I'm awake.**_

_**Because of you, I'm alive.**_

_**For you I'm awake.**_

_**Swallowing you.**_

Drawing back, I once again hefted the axe high above my head, hell-bent on severing this damned line. By now, Rei and Minako were slumped over in their bindings, sobbing and crying from the torture they felt, begging and pleading for me not to do this. For a moment, I froze. Their painful wails, their tear-stained cheeks, their ice-chilled bodies filled my senses. I stared down at the damage I had inflicted with Bloodmoon. The line was pulsing between a bright red and a dull, lifeless purple. Innumerable cracks and fractures spidered their way away from the point of impact, extending down each end of the line, right up to my two friends. Chips and pieces of the fractured ribbon had already fallen away, dissolving slowly upon the ground. The image of my own ribbon, extending outwards into the sky, into nothingness, into the dimensional rift where my beloved stood at her gates when I had first conjured Venus' confiscated powers filled my head. Surely she would know of this. There was no way she couldn't have known. But why had she not appeared to stop me? Why had she not told me that it would come to this? The power flaring violently around myself and my two best friends churned harder, urging me to swing. My weapon remained poised above my head, like the blade of a guillotine waiting to be dropped. But something small… something quiet… something inside me… whispered, pleaded for me to stop; that Rei and Minako had had enough. It whispered to me all the damage that I had inflicted on everyone. The weakened state of Hotaru, the electrical wounds inflicted upon Makoto, the scarred mind of Ami from using the Glaive to sweep away her power, the shattering of the talismans of two of the Outers, the massive onslaught I had wrought against the love line between two of my closest friends and the near mortal damage inflicted upon it.

But for all that… for all of that, it told me what had happened to myself. The energies of the eight planets were too great for any one person to wield, even the Queen of the Moon. That power began to corrupt the instant the absorptions had started, clouding my judgment. My hatred, my anger, my rage born of betrayal that had been unlocked; these had instilled fear within my senshi. My beloved senshi, my friends, my protectors, possibly even my lover, now feared me for what I could do, for what I had become. I could feel their trust in me shaken so hard, it was all but completely shattered. It was no longer the trust born of love and friendship, but of fear. Stumbling back a step or two, I still held Bloodmoon above me. I heard the dry hiss of magic… the crackling, burning sound of power… the slowly growing hum of energy… I heard it all within me. Losing my strength, I lowered the greataxe to the ground, dropping it with a metallic clang. The sound grew louder. The hiss, the crackle, the burn, the hum; louder and louder they grew within my mind until my head began to hurt. I felt my heart speed up, and my breath begin to come in short, quick gasps as my blood began to burn. Clutching my head in my hands, I fell upon my knees, crumpling forward in a cry of pain.

…

Setsuna!

…

Pluto!

…

My love, please!

…

Help me!

…

The noise, the pressure, the burning, I can't take this anymore!

_**I'm alive, for you I'm awake.**_

_**Because of you, I'm alive.**_

_**For you I'm awake.**_

_**Swallowing you.**_

The Silver Crystal floated above me, spinning rapidly as its once beautiful song turned into a high-pitched, screeching whine, its light growing brighter and brighter. My protectors… I had done this to them, done this to myself. Their powers given to them to protect me were now killing me. Ami, Makoto…please forgive me. Haruka, Michiru, Taru-chan… I beg you, please forgive me! Rei, Minako… my god what have I done?! Struggling to lift my head I strained to look at them through the whiteness and agony I felt tearing my body asunder. Reaching out with the little remaining control I had, I broke their bonds. I focused the raging arcane torrent of the Moon's powers into a gentle sparkle that wrapped its way around their wounded love line, shielding it and attempting to undo the damage I had done. I could do no more, as the powers of the solar system raged uncontrolled within myself. Curling up against the suffering and corruption, I attempted to contain it as long as possible. Even though they had betrayed me, even though I had in turn betrayed them… I knew in my heart I would still love them. And I would always try to defend them. Even if it was from myself.

As the end drew near, I screamed at my senshi, who had finally come to, to get out of the area. To save themselves. Rolling over onto my back, I drew my final control and cast the pink haze through the air, to see my own love line once more. It extended silently upward toward that extradimensional rift… and in one dazzling, brilliant snap… it vaporized.

I could no longer feel pain.

I could no longer hear the deafening roar of magic or energy or power.

I could no longer feel the terrifying pressure filling my body.

I could no longer hear my own cries of pain.

I could no longer see the beautiful sky above, alight with stars.

I could no longer feel myself breathing.

I could no longer feel my heart beating.

I could no longer feel the hatred, or anger, or betrayal.

I could no longer…

Could no longer see…

See what I had become…

The darkness of the light…

For I existed…

No more.

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End Story

A/N – Kind of a weird one huh? R & R please. Any flames shall be promptly dealt with through Chinese water torture and electroshock therapy with a 12 volt lantern battery.


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